WASHINGTON -- NASA and the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museumwill invite 30 of their social media followers to the first "NASASocial" on April 19 to welcome space shuttle Discovery to thenational collection. Registration opens at noon EDT Thursday, March15, and closes at noon Friday, March 16. Thirty participants will beselected randomly from online registrations.

A NASA Social is an event for people who use NASA's social mediaaccounts. For this event, fans and followers on Twitter, Facebook andGoogle+ are eligible to register. Each participant may invite oneguest and all registrants must be 13 or older.

The social media group will tour the Smithsonian's Steven F.Udvar-Hazy Center; speak with museum curators, NASA scientists andengineers; and have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of viewing andphotographing space shuttles Enterprise and Discovery together.Participants also will meet fellow space enthusiasts who are activeon social media and members of the Smithsonian and NASA social media teams.

NASA officially will transfer Discovery into the Smithsonian'scollection April 19 in an outdoor ceremony open to the public. Theevent will begin with Discovery's arrival from adjacent DullesInternational Airport onto the tow road behind the center. Thatevening, specialists from NASA and the museum's collections divisionwill begin repositioning Enterprise and Discovery. Enterprise hasbeen on display at the center and is moving to New York's IntrepidSea, Air and Space Museum. Discovery will be moved inside thecenter's James S. McDonnell Space Hangar to be displayed permanently.

The National Air and Space Museum operates two buildings in theWashington area: the flagship building on the National Mall and theSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., near Dulles. Bothfacilities are open daily from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25).

NASA to Hold Media Briefing About Upcoming NuSTAR Mission Launch

WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a media briefing at 12 p.m. EDT onTuesday, March 13, to discuss the upcoming launch of the NuclearSpectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). The mission will use advancedoptics and detectors, allowing astronomers to observe the high-energyX-ray sky with much greater sensitivity and clarity than any missionflown to-date. The televised briefing will take place in the agency'stelevision studio at NASA Headquarters, located at 300 E St. S.W. in Washington.

NuSTAR will advance our understanding of how structure in the universeforms and evolves. It will observe some of the hottest, densest andmost energetic objects in the universe, including black holes, theirhigh-speed particle jets, ultra-dense neutron stars, supernovaremnants, and our sun.

NuSTAR is targeted for launch no earlier than 11:30 a.m. EDT on March22. The launch window extends to 3:30 p.m. The spacecraft willliftoff on an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL launch vehicle, releasedfrom an aircraft originating from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations or bytelephone. Media planning to attend the briefing or reserve a phoneline must contact trent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov by 9 a.m. on Monday, March 12.

Early Career Faculty NASA Space Tech Research Opportunities

WASHINGTON -- NASA is seeking proposals from accredited U.S.universities on behalf of outstanding early career faculty beginningtheir independent careers. This inaugural Space Technology ResearchOpportunities for Early Career Faculty solicitation seeks to sponsorresearch in specific, high priority technology areas of interest to NASA.

Specific topic areas were selected because they can best benefit fromearly stage innovative approaches provided by U.S. academicinstitutions. The research will investigate unique, disruptive ortransformational space technologies or concepts.

"NASA is committed to ensuring our nation's intellectual capitalpipeline remains the best in the world, and that we bring thebrightest minds together with the best ideas to meet the challengesof NASA's future missions," said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA'sSpace Technology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Thesegrants offer a means for NASA to capitalize on the tremendouscreativity and innovation that these brilliant individuals have to offer."

NASA expects to award approximately ten grants this fall, funded up to$200,000 each per year, based on the merit of proposals received.Notices of intent to submit proposals are due March 30. The deadlinefor submitting final proposals is May 3. For information on thesolicitation, including specific technology areas of interest and howto submit notices of intent and proposals, visit:

The Space Technology Research Opportunities for Early Career Facultyis a part of NASA's Space Technology Program, managed by the Officeof the Chief Technologist. For more information about the SpaceTechnology Program and the crosscutting space technology areas ofinterest to NASA, visit:

The Epic Stuggle Between Birds and Pigs Moves to Space with a NASA Science Twist

WASHINGTON -- For nearly three years, millions of gamers have usedphysics in the battle between birds and pigs in the video game AngryBirds. In cooperation with NASA, Finland-based Rovio Entertainment,creator of the Angry Birds franchise, announced its newest game,"Angry Birds Space," on Thursday, March 8. NASA and Rovio are workingtogether to teach people about physics and space exploration throughthe internationally successful puzzle game.

Game developers have incorporated concepts of human space explorationinto the new game. From the weightlessness of space to the gravitywells of nearby planets, players use physics as they explore thevarious levels of the game set both on planets and in microgravity.

"This collaboration began with a simple Twitter exchange about birdsand pigs in space, and it has grown into a tremendous outreach andeducation opportunity," said David Weaver, associate administratorfor communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Games are funand entertaining, but they also can be inspirational and informative.This ongoing collaboration with Rovio and Angry Birds is an excitingway to get people engaged with NASA's missions of exploration anddiscovery, and get students energized about future careers in scienceand technology."

Aboard the International Space Station, Flight Engineer Don Pettit ofNASA created a video using Angry Birds Space to explain how physicsworks in space, including demonstrating trajectories in microgravityby catapulting an Angry Bird through the space station. The video wasshown this week to an audience at the South by Southwest Conferencesand Festivals, an annual convention of original music, independentfilms, and emerging technologies in Austin, Texas. It is alsoavailable on NASA's website at http://www.nasa.gov.

"We focused on every detail in development of Angry Birds Space tobuild a special experience for our fans," said Peter Vesterbacka,chief marketing officer and mighty eagle of Rovio Entertainment. "Ibelieve we have succeeded well with the game, and we wanted to createsomething as unique around our launch events. NASA has been theperfect partner for our Angry Birds Space program, and we can't waitto work with them on creating more compelling educational experiences."

Multi-Agency Satellite Begins Climate and Weather Studies

GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA has completed commissioning of the SuomiNational Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite (NPP), which is nowmaking global environmental observations. The satellite will providescientists with critical insight into the dynamics of the entireEarth system, including climate, clouds, oceans, and vegetation. Itwill also gather enhanced data for improving our nation's weatherforecasting system.

The mission, launched in October 2011, is the result of a partnershipbetween NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) and the Department of Defense. All five of the satellite'sinstruments now have been activated for science data collection.

"By providing cutting-edge measurements of important Earth systemprocesses, the Suomi NPP mission will increase researchers' knowledgeof our home planet, and provide direct societal benefit through moreaccurate predictions," said Michael Freilich, director, Earth ScienceDivision at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This satellite mission,which could only have come to fruition through a close interagencypartnership, is multifaceted and its data will be used by a multitudeof stakeholders in the U.S. and worldwide."

With the completion of commissioning activities, operation of theSuomi NPP has now been turned over to a Joint Polar Satellite System(JPSS) team. NOAA's JPSS Program provided three of the fiveinstruments and the ground segment for Suomi NPP. A government teamfrom the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Md., willoperate the satellite.

"NOAA is thrilled with the performance of Suomi NPP," said Mary Kicza,assistant administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Servicein Silver Spring, Md. "NOAA will be using the advanced data NPPprovides to improve life-saving weather forecasts and track volcaniceruptions, and to improve our understanding of long-term weather andclimate patterns. Suomi NPP is an important mission for the nation."

The Suomi NPP mission is a bridge between NOAA and NASA legacy Earthobserving missions and NOAA's next-generation JPSS. Suomi NPP fliesfor the first time the groundbreaking new Earth observing instrumentsthat JPSS will use operationally. The first satellite in the JPSSseries, JPSS-1, is targeted for launch in 2016.

NASA scientists have already begun creating consistent, multi-decadeEarth science data sets by combining the new NPP observations withmeasurements from many of the legacy NASA and NOAA missions. Theselong-term observations are critical to improving our understanding ofthe Earth system and quantifying any changes.

NASA Signs Agreement With Bermuda For Tracking Station

WASHINGTON -- NASA and the government of Bermuda signed an agreementtoday to establish a temporary mobile tracking station on Cooper'sIsland to support launches from the agency's Wallops Flight Facilityin Virginia including future commercial missions. Deputy Premier andTransport Minister Derrick Burgess and NASA Deputy Administrator LoriGarver signed the agreement.

The mobile tracking station will be provided and operated by Wallopsunder NASA's Research Range Services Program. The station can providetelemetry, meteorological, optical, and command and control services.It will support the launch of commercial rockets carrying supplies tothe International Space Station or satellites to low-Earth orbit.

"This tracking station will help facilitate NASA's partnership withcommercial companies and support operations aboard the InternationalSpace Station," Garver said. "We're grateful to the government ofBermuda for its ongoing support to NASA."

Bermuda has been a long-time partner of NASA in supporting spaceexploration. The British territory hosted a radar tracking stationfrom the Mercury Project in the early 1960s through most of the SpaceShuttle Program.

For more information on NASA's Commercial Orbital TransportationServices, visit:

NASA Tweetups Are Evolving. It's Time To Be More Social

WASHINGTON -- NASA is expanding its successful program of Tweetups toinclude more social media platforms, broadening the agency's use ofsocial media to engage audiences about the agency's mission ofexploration and discovery. As part of this effort, the "NASA Tweetup"will now be known as "NASA Social."

Since 2009, NASA has hosted 34 in-person Tweetups, which are informalmeetings of people who use the social messaging medium Twitter.Hundreds of participants have shared thousands of tweets, pictures,videos and blog posts with their followers, detailingbehind-the-scenes views of NASA launches, centers, missions andspeakers. The agency's primary Twitter account, @NASA, has nearly 2million followers. Multiple NASA missions and centers maintainTwitter accounts as well. NASA's innovative use of Twitter has beenrecognized as one of the best in federal government.

"NASA has been recognized for its efforts in social media and we wantto build on that success, engaging in an online conversation thatseamlessly spans platforms, taking advantage of the diverse onlinesocial experience that each enables," said David Weaver, associateadministrator for communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington."A Tweetup is identified with a specific online service and manyparticipants are members of other Internet communities. We felt itwas time to expand the Tweetup concept to embrace other social media platforms."

The agency also has a significant presence on Flickr, YouTube,Google+, Facebook, Foursquare and other social media websites. NASASocials will allow the agency to better expand online and in-personprograms to connect with audiences following NASA on a growingvariety of social media websites.

NASA's Twin Grail Spacecraft Begin Collecting Lunar Science Data

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)spacecraft orbiting the moon officially have begun their sciencecollection phase. During the next 84 days, scientists will obtain ahigh-resolution map of the lunar gravitational field to learn aboutthe moon's internal structure and composition in unprecedenteddetail. The data also will provide a better understanding of howEarth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed and evolved.

"The initiation of science data collection is a time when the teamlets out a collective sigh of relief because we are finally doingwhat we came to do," said Maria Zuber, principal investigator for theGRAIL mission at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology inCambridge. "But it is also a time where we have to put the coffee poton, roll up our sleeves and get to work."

The GRAIL mission's twin, washing-machine-sized spacecraft, named Ebband Flow, entered lunar orbit on New Year's Eve and New Years Day.GRAIL's science phase began yesterday at 8:15 p.m. EST (5:15 p.m.PST). During this mission phase, the spacecraft will transmit radiosignals precisely defining the distance between them. As they flyover areas of greater and lesser gravity caused by visible featuressuch as mountains, craters and masses hidden beneath the lunarsurface, the distance between the two spacecraft will changeslightly. Science activities are expected to conclude on May 29,after GRAIL maps the gravity field of the moon three times.

"We are in a near-polar, near-circular orbit with an average altitudeof about 34 miles (55 kilometers) right now," said David Lehman,GRAIL project manager from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) inPasadena, Calif. "During the science phase, our spacecraft will orbitthe moon as high as 31 miles (51 kilometers) and as low as 10 miles(16 kilometers). They will get as close to each other as 40 miles (65kilometers) and as far apart as 140 miles (225 kilometers)."

Previously named GRAIL A and B, the names Ebb and Flow were the resultof a nation-wide student contest to choose new names for thespacecraft. The winning entry was submitted by fourth graders fromthe Emily Dickinson Elementary School in Bozeman, Mont. Nearly 900classrooms with more than 11,000 students from 45 states, Puerto Ricoand the District of Columbia, participated in the contest.

JPL manages the GRAIL mission for NASA's Science Mission Directoratein Washington. The GRAIL mission is part of the Discovery Programmanaged at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft.